Hattrick is a film that attempts to capitalize on the current cricket world cup mania with a mixture of bollywood masala thrown in. Unfortunately cricket just has a feeble part in the film and instead the film encapsulates the new trend of three separate stories running simultaneously. There are three separate story lines and the director tries to culminate them on a similar note with cricket being the link in all the stories. The first one revolves around a die hard cricket patient and a doctor, the second story revolves around a cricket fanatic husband and his wife and finally the third story revolves around another cricket fan who is an illegal immigrant in Britain. The director tries to incorporate huge doses of humour and bits of cricket to entertain his audiences. There are parts which make one laugh, but unfortunately the script is immature and hence the film barely manages to make it to the average mark.
Hattrick has been produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Milan Luthria. The film belongs to the comedy genre and stars Kunal Kapoor as Sarabjeet/Saby, Rimi Sen as Kashmira, Nana Patekar as Dr.Satyajeet Chavan, Danny Denzongpa as David, Paresh Rawal as Hemu Patel, Harsha Bhogle, John Abraham and Usha Uthup in special appearances. The music has been composed by Pritam and the story and screenplay has been done by Rajat Arora.
David loves cricket and will do anything to play and watch this sport. He is a fun loving and easy going guy. However one day David gets ill and is admitted to a hospital where he meets Dr.Satyajeet Chavan who is the complete opposite of him. Dr.Chavan is always in a foul temper, hates cricket, doesn’t smile and doesn’t know how to have fun in life. David makes it his mission to teach the doc how to love cricket and have some fun in life. The second story revolves around Saby and his beautiful wife Kashmira. Saby is a die hard cricket fan and has given up everything including his wife to watch the cricket matches. Kashmira is jealous that cricket has taken her husband away from her and their ensuing bickering takes place. However later its Saby’s turn to be jealous when he sees his young wife get attracted to cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Finally the third story has some serious content, Hemu Patel; another cricket maniac who illegally lives in Britain is trying his best to get the much desired British citizenship. Hemu is not happy with the kind of life that he leads in London; he faces several problems like racism and the fight to live in a country that does not recognize him or want him. Cricket is a part of these men’s lives and it is incorporated in each of the stories.
Milan Luthria’s direction is competent; unfortunately it is Rajat Arora’s script and screenplay that falters. The script lacks logic and is very often immature. The problems of the characters and their personalities are established but there are no gradual solutions. Instead miraculously the problems of all the protagonists are solved just as easily as they came about. Also though the chaos and confusion in the film is shown to heighten the comedy element, it often serves to only confuse the audiences. Even though cricket is shown to be a vital part in the film, on the contrary it is just a feeble link connecting the three stories together. The film also concentrates too much on highlighting endorsements. While the two stories of the patient/doctor and the husband/wife have over the top drama and are just about average, it is the third story of the desperate immigrant that manages to touch a chord and brings in the much needed emotional quotient.
However the chemistry between Danny and Nana Patekar clearly comes across and their banter and bickering has several fun moments. Paresh Rawal’s personal dilemma too clearly comes across. There are several humorous moments in the film and the performances are done sincerely. Music by Pritam is not up to the mark and even the promotional song ‘Wicket Bacha’ is a disappointment. Cinematography is not up to the mark and does not captivate the audiences. Dialogues are fare. Performances are decent; Danny is seen on-screen after a long time and delivers a likeable performance. Nana plays his part with ease, Kunal Kapoor and Rimi Sen are average but tend to go over the top with their histrionics at times. Paresh Rawal gives a heartfelt and sincere performance. The rest of the cast play their parts in an able manner.
Hattrick may not receive a fabulous response presently due to the ongoing World Cup match and the annual examinations. Hattrick’s script and screenplay lack maturity and logic but due to the decent performances it turns out just about average.
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| Reviewed By: Rachel Fernandes |
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